Track-oiling device



y 1930- A. J. VAN DRESSER 1,758,300

TRACK OILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet- 1 Fig.1. f

May 13, 1930. V A. .1v VAN DRESSER TRACK OILING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, 192v- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 awuen cox Patented May 13, 1930 ALMON VAN DRESSER, OF

NEW ORLEANS, Louis ana TRAGK-OILING DEVICE Application filed December 8, 1927. Serial No. 238,661.

This invention relates to means for apply- 7 ing oil or other lubricant totrack rails, and more particularly to the grooved guard rails commonly employed on curves in street railway systems.

As is well known, guardrails of the character referred to,"have,- in addition to" the usual tread, a flanged or guard portion'usually projectin above the plane of thetread,

19 and separate l therefrom by means of a groove which receives the flan e of the wheels. In rounding curves considerable binding andfriction develops between the wheel flange and the inner face of the flange of the guard rail, and it is customaryto apply lubricant to this guard rail to facilitate the movement of the wheels on the curve.

Heretofore this work has been done exclusively by hand, that is to say the lubricant is carried in a bucket and appliedto the rail by means of a paddle or the like. The'labor cost of this service is relatively high and-adds materially to'the cost of maintenance of the" system. i V V The object of the present'invention is to- 'provide a manually propelled oiling device which may be pushed along a track rail as fast as a man can wa1k, and-which will rapidly and effectively apply lubricant to the flange V of the guardrail at thepoint where it' is required.

. With the above general object in view, and

swing. 7' v As shown in Figs. 3and'c6, the pipe 7, on r e the inside of the container'8 is provided with 85 1 ports 7 which'rpreferablyopen upwardly, through which ports the air from the'pump 11 flows into :the containerand is-compressed in the space above thelubricant therein, thus maintaining such lubricant under pressure.' 90

to provide an apparatus of this character having simple and efl'icient details'of construc-' tion, the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed,and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved lubricating apparatus; p i Fig.2isaplan viewtthereof; 'j V Fig. 3 is a section on enlarged scale on the line 33 of Fig. 1, looking-in the direction of thearrows; :v I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary inverted sectional plan view on the line of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal-section through" thedelivery nozzle or brush; and v Fig. 6 ,is ia transverse section on an en larged scale through the combined air pipe and trunnion. p

Referring to the drawings in detail, myimproved apparatus is in the form of a truck or wheeled support, comprising a suitable'55 base 1 to which are secured at theends outwardly and downwardly inclined bearing brackets or pedestals, inthe ends of which are ijournalled, a pair of spaced tandem wheels 3 adapted to roll upon the track railX. 6O

In order to propel the apparatus along I provide a handle 4 secured to the base 1 and provided at its upper end with a cross 'bar 5.

Secured to the base 1 are a pair ofupstand ing 'spacedbrackets 6 which pivotally support'a lubricant container 8. This is shown as comprising a cylindrical tank having'a 7 removable air-tight cover 9. In order-to provide trunnions onwhich this tankv is supported I secure inthe upper partof the tank a horizontal, transversely extending pipe 7.- One end of this ipe 7 is closed, as indicated'at 7 while theot er end is attached .to a tube 10 connected with an air, pump ;11 secured to the handle 4. A pressure gauge 12 is prefera-bly connected with the pipe 7 and tube 10 to show the'amount of air;pressure contained in the tankiq The portionsof the pipe immediatelyout;- .7 side of the container8 arejournalled in the so upper endsof the brackets (Sand-constitute runnions on which the. containerv 8* may The bottom of the container 8'preferab1y slopes toward the center, as shown at 8 in Fig. 3, and rigidly mounted in. thisbottomat its lowest point is the upper end of a down wardlyextendingdischarge pipe 13. This pipe worksrfreely through a transverse'slot :14 in the base 1, as clearly shown in Figs. 3

and 4,s'uch slot permitting thexpipe to swing In the pipe 13 between the container 8 and nozzle 15 is inserted a valve 1-6 by means of which the flow of lubricant throughthe pipe and nozzle may be controlled. This valve s provided with an operating lever 17 which is normally urged a spring 18 i n-teaposition to close the valve 16. In order to open this valve as desired, an operating wire '19 is se cured to the lever 17 and passes upthrough the handle 4, which is preferably'hol'low, to the upper'end ofsuch: handle where it is secured to an operating lever 20-, piv'otallymounte'dat 21; onthe, crossbar 5.

Another wire 22 also passes'up-through the handle 4 and issfecured; at its lower end to a sideof the base, 1 and connected through a spring 25- with thepipe 13. The upper endof; the wire 22 issecure'd toan operating lever 26V pivoted at 27' to the cross bar ,5. From the foregoing it will be seen that when the operating lever 20- is depressed thevalve 16 will be opened and lubricant will be, discharged under pressure from the container through the delivery nozzle. 7 It will also: be observed that when the operating lever 26 .is

' depressed: the bell crank 23W1ll? be actuated:

aIId'LthG discharge pipe 13', together with the 7 container 8, will be swung laterally about the trunnions 7. in such a manner as to bring-the delivery. nozzle ,or brush 15 into: engagement with the inner surface of the flange of the guard rail, asclearly shown in- Fig. 3. 'By virtue of the spring connection 25 the brush or nozzle is yieldingly urged into contact with the surface of the-rail, as described.

, Referring again to: Fig. 3, I have illustratedtherein a guard rail X having the tread portion w, the flange e and the intermediate groove portion y, and it will be seen that the flange a is considerably above the tread w. 7

The wheels '3 of my improved truck are;

made to conform as closely as possible with the: contour or-pr'ofile of this; rail, and to this end theperiphery of each wheel is made upof 1 a tread portion a adapted to roll upon thetreacli w of the rail, a smaller tread portion 0 adapted to rollupon the upper edge of the flange a-of the rail, and a central rib b shaped to enter the grooveg/ofthe rail. It will thus beseen' that the wheel comprises a central rib or beat with a tread-portion at-e'ach side.

I thereof, and that thesetread} portions-bearj-up 'on the corresponding parts of the rail: insuchmanner asto causelthe wheeler-o li'e firmly supported'. By providing wheelsofithis character I have produced a tandem truck which i's ca-r' pab'le of standing alone upon as track rail when released by theioperator, and this is a feature of considerable practicalirnportance. 1

By providing independent operating meansfor the valve 16, and for swinging the nozzle against the surface of the rail, I am enabled to controlthese two elements separately 7 spread or distributed, it will melt and flow away without perhaps reaching the entire surface which it is desired to have it cover.

In order to assist in lifting the apparatus from the track, and c'arrying'it about, I

with the: forward bearing brackets 2 and Y equipped with a. handle 30. bell crank lever 23 pivoted at 24 to the lower Fromthe foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple, convenient and compact apparatus by means of which lubricant provide; a bail '28 pivotally connected at 2 9 under pressure may be rapidly and effectively 1 delivered and applied to the flanges of guard rails, and it isthought that the many advantages of my invention will be readily appreciateclwithout further discussion,

' What I claim is 1 H 1, Hail lubricating apparatus comprising a truck wholly supported-on two} spaced tandem wheels movablealong a rail, alubrica'nt containerca-rriedby said truck, an;d a discharge pipe extending downwardly from said container and disposed; to deliver lubricant ice I onto, the rail,'eachof; said wheels having a central peripheral rib and an annular flange ortread on each sidethereof, whereby sai I truck will stand alone on a grooved track rail in upright position; i.

2.; Apparatus for lubricating track rails having a head, groove and guard flange, saidapparatus, comp-rising a lubricant container and a truck on which said containeris mount-x ed, said; truck having av pair of spaced tan-V dem wheels on which it is wholly'supported,

and each-of said wheelsfhjavinga periphery transverseprofile of the rail, such periphery 3. Rail lubricating apparatus comprising- ,a-wheeled support movable along a rail, a

lubricant container, horizontal trunnions on which saldcontainer is mount-ed to sw ng,

relative to said support,,one of said trunnions being hollow,an air pump connected with said hollowtrunnion' for compressing air in corresponding in transverse profile to the lee said container, a disc'harge pipe rigid with said 'container and swinging therewith, and

means for swinging said container on its.

trunnions.

, V, In testimony whereof' I aflix signature.

A N Q AN DRESSER?" f 

